Indeed the only nod to the elephant in the room was the Chancellor's decision to abolish stamp duty for key workers and first-time buyers purchasing a property share of less than 80 per cent as part of the government's Shared Ownership scheme.
However they will become eligible for the tax once they opt to increase their share beyond this point.
Unsurprisingly, the mortgage industry is reeling from Darling's inaction following repeated calls for him to raise the stamp duty thresholds in line with house price inflation, in a bid to take the pressure off already stretched borrowers.
Most had hoped that Darling would push the nil band rate up from £125,000 to at least £150,000 if not £200,000, however this was not the case.
National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) chief executive, Peter Bolton King, said that the Chancellor had "failed the British homeowner again" by refusing to move its boundaries on the property tax, while Building Societies' Association director general, Adrian Coles said:
“While exempting some shared ownership properties from stamp duty is welcomed, the announcement will do little to help those who are unable to take advantage of the shared ownership schemes.
"Allowing eligible buyers to purchase only 50 per cent of their property is welcome recognition of the challenges first-time buyers face but we still expect demand to remain low, not least due to the problems associated with saving for a deposit.”
The Chancellor also championed long-term mortgage products in Wednesday's Budget, demonstrating that the points he made in 2007 concerning 10, 20 and 25-year products were not throwaway statements.
David Newnes, managing director of Your Move, reflected: “The Chancellor has ignored the need for a boost in the property market - and that was a big mistake.
"Many first-time buyers need to borrow in excess of the value of their home to cover moving costs, fees and stamp duty. If Darling had given them a stamp duty holiday, the surplus costs of buying a home would have dropped significantly.
"The Chancellor has failed to acknowledge the effect the credit crunch has had on first time buyers’ ability to borrow."
